President Donald Trump delivers a speech marking his 100th day in office in Warren, Michigan, on April 29, 2025. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty)
Since taking office, Trump's executive orders have been challenged by hundreds of lawsuits in federal court, though not all have been successful, and some remain in the earlier stages of review.
Plaintiffs have sought to block the dismantling of certain federal agencies, to restore board heads and inspectors general fired by Trump, and to restrict the access of Elon Musk's government efficiency agency, DOGE, among other things.
But like the groups filing the lawsuits, the Trump administration also has the ability to appeal any lower court decisions it views as unfavorable or going beyond the scope of the federal court.
In the interim, it can seek an emergency stay to restore the executive order until the case can be heard on its merits.
The Supreme Court has agreed to do so in several major cases. It sided with Trump in removing two federal board members he had fired earlier this year, and which a lower court had reversed.
Last week, the Supreme Court lifted a lower court order that paused Trump's ban on transgender military members from taking effect – allowing his order and related policies to proceed, at least for now.
President Donald Trump shakes hands with Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts as Melania Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump look on after being sworn in during inauguration ceremonies in the Rotunda of the Capitol on Jan. 20, 2025. (Chip Somodevilla/Pool via Reuters/File)
Options available to the White House are more limited by the Constitution. The president can appoint federal judges, but he cannot fire them. The executive branch is also responsible for enforcing court rulings and may either slow-roll or de-prioritize decisions the president disagrees with.
Meanwhile, Trump allies have also sought to push back on the power of the courts in other, more unorthodox ways.
The America First Legal Foundation, a pro-Trump legal group founded by White House aide Stephen Miller in between Trump's first and second terms, filed a lawsuit against Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, in his capacity as the official head of the U.S. Judicial Conference, and Robert J. Conrad, the director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, earlier this month.
The lawsuit accuses both parties of performing certain regulatory actions that go beyond the scope of the "core functions" of the judiciary – and which they argue should put them under the thumb of the executive branch.
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"An American president is not a king – not even an 'elected' one – and his power to remove federal officers and honest civil servants like plaintiff is not absolute," Howell said in a case involving the reinstatement of two fired federal board members earlier this year.
Breanne Deppisch is a national politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering the Trump administration, with a focus on the Justice Department, FBI, and other national news.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/activist-judges-keep-trying-curb-trumps-agenda-heres-how-he-could-push-back